plural free solos
rock climbing
: a climb in which a climber uses no artificial aids for support and has no rope or other safety equipment for protection in case of a fall
Before attempting his free solo of Moonlight Buttress, [Alex] Honnold rehearsed the most challenging pitch on rope repeatedly, until he had memorized each move.—
Nathaniel Rich
Nathaniel RichHe's attempting to do something that professional rock climbers have long thought was impossible—a "free solo" ascent of the world's most iconic cliff. That means he is alone and climbing without a rope as he inches his way up more than half a mile of sheer rock.—Mark Synnott
Mark Synnott
free soloist
noun
plural free soloists
Aside from good sneakers and a bit of friction-inducing chalk on the palms, there is nothing to prevent a free soloist from a fatal fall.
—Rafer Guzmán
Rafer Guzmán
Honnold … has become the world's pre-eminent free soloist, traveling around the world to scale seemingly unscalable mountains.
—G. Allen Johnson
G. Allen Johnson
variants
or free-solo
free soloed or free-soloed; free soloing or free-soloing; free soloes or free-soloes
rock climbing
: to perform a free solo climb of a rock face, climbing route, etc. : to climb without the use of artificial aids or safety equipment
On June 3, 2017, Alex Honnold free soloed the Freerider route of El Capitan in three hours and 56 minutes.—Bret Stephens
Bret StephensWhen a climber "free solos" a route, any mistake will result in falling to your death.—C. Moon Reed
C. Moon Reed"When I free-solo, I personally only do climbs I've climbed before," [Austen] McNulty said.—Tim Drugan-Eppich
Tim Drugan-Eppich
free soloing
noun
or free-soloing
In the sport of free soloing, which means climbing with only a powdery chalk bag and rock shoes—no rope, no gear, nothing to keep you stuck to the stone but your own belief and ability—doubt is dangerous.
—Mark Jenkins
Mark Jenkins
Examples of free solo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Feb. 2026
When all was said and done, Honnold’s free solo climb of the 1,667-foot skyscraper without the use of ropes or nets took 1 hour and 31 minutes.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Could be one for those wanting more high-octane TV following Netflix’s Skyscraper Live event, which saw free solo climber Alex Honnold scale Taiwan’s Taipei 101 building without a harness.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
Honnold’s free solo climb of the iconic building in Taiwan’s capital city was broadcast live on Netflix with a 10-second delay.
—Katie Tam, Fortune, 26 Jan. 2026
The free solo special, Skyscraper Live, was originally scheduled to take place on Friday, Jan. 23, but weather prompted the streamer to postpone the event by 24 hours.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 25 Jan. 2026
Shortly before Sacramento-area native Alex Honnold was scheduled to free solo climb a Taiwanese skyscraper live on Netflix, the streamer confirmed that the event had been postponed.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Alex Honnold just became the first person to free solo the 1,667-foot skyscraper Taipei 101 in Taiwan and set a record for the biggest urban free solo in history.
—Abigail Wise, Outside, 24 Jan. 2026
Jesse Klein, Outside, 27 Dec. 2025
The special will see free solo climber Alex Honnold attempt to scale Taipei 101.
—Peter White, Deadline, 18 Dec. 2025
The 2018 documentary captured Alex Honnold's free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in California.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
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Noun
One such case is this tense Oscar-winning doc about rock climber Alex Honnold and his determination to conquer the El Capitan rock formation at Yosemite National Park via free solo climb, which is to say, without any ropes to protect him.
—Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Feb. 2026
When all was said and done, Honnold’s free solo climb of the 1,667-foot skyscraper without the use of ropes or nets took 1 hour and 31 minutes.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Could be one for those wanting more high-octane TV following Netflix’s Skyscraper Live event, which saw free solo climber Alex Honnold scale Taiwan’s Taipei 101 building without a harness.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
Honnold’s free solo climb of the iconic building in Taiwan’s capital city was broadcast live on Netflix with a 10-second delay.
—Katie Tam, Fortune, 26 Jan. 2026
The free solo special, Skyscraper Live, was originally scheduled to take place on Friday, Jan. 23, but weather prompted the streamer to postpone the event by 24 hours.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 25 Jan. 2026
Shortly before Sacramento-area native Alex Honnold was scheduled to free solo climb a Taiwanese skyscraper live on Netflix, the streamer confirmed that the event had been postponed.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Alex Honnold just became the first person to free solo the 1,667-foot skyscraper Taipei 101 in Taiwan and set a record for the biggest urban free solo in history.
—Abigail Wise, Outside, 24 Jan. 2026
Verb
Wolfgang Güllich, the great German climber who first free soloed the quintessential Yosemite roof climb Separate Reality in 1986, is pictured shirtless in red-and-white striped leggings, ripped as all hell, his shaggy mullet and mustache upgrading the photo to unforgettable.
—Jesse Klein, Outside, 27 Dec. 2025
The special will see free solo climber Alex Honnold attempt to scale Taipei 101.
—Peter White, Deadline, 18 Dec. 2025
The 2018 documentary captured Alex Honnold's free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in California.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Free solo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20solo. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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